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Review Fans of clamshell phones may feel a touch hard done by when it comes to Sony Ericsson. Despite some desirably stylish Walkman and Cyber-shot designs, the real style icons to date have tended to be candybars.

The Z770i is its attempt to redress the balance. It's constructed with a smart, elegant look rather than brash style-statement chic. It comes in a black or brushed metal-look silver casing, with just a touch of contrasting colour accents.

Sony Ericsson's Z770i: stylish

The Z770i also has an extra bit of poke under that bonnet, with HSDPA 3G connectivity inside enabling fast web access and over-the-air downloads.

It has a typical mid-range spread of features, including a multi-format music and video player, an FM radio and a two-megapixel camera. Google Maps software is pre-loaded for navigation and location-based services, although there’s no built-in GPS receiver. RSS news feeds are supported too, and Sony Ericsson has furnished the Z770i with its useful email wizard to make setting up new accounts a breeze.

Surprisingly, video calling isn’t supported - there’s no secondary camera for face-to-face conversations. Of course, for most mobile users video calling is a rarely, if ever used novelty they wouldn’t miss, but its absence it still a surprise.

Semi-concealed secondary displays are the in-thing at the moment, and Sony Ericsson has slipped one beneath a mirrored strip across the handset's lid. The small, mono display that shines through shows basic time, status and incoming caller or message ID info rather than anything cutting edge, but adds to the tidy design feel.

The Z770i is slim for a clamshell, measuring 15.5 x 93 x 48mm and weighing a pocketable 91g. It feels comfortable to hold and use. It has a flat surface with keys separated by rounded backlit grooves. It’s quite striking, with a distinct hint of the original Razr about it.